COLUMBIA, S.C. A South Carolina sheriff is calling him "the ultimate deadbeat dad."
Police say Johnny Martin faked his own death 25 years ago to avoid paying child support. The 58-year-old man has now been recaptured and jailed -- and he now owes more than 30-thousand dollars in child support.
Authorities say Martin escaped from a work detail in 1979 while serving time for failing to pay support for two kids. They say he had a relative call Family Court to report he had died during a bar fight.
Investigators say he'd been living in Myrtle Beach and using real name for about 20 years -- and had a third child. They reopened his case after one of his ex-wives tipped them off that he was still around.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Police say Johnny Martin faked his own death 25 years ago to avoid paying child support. The 58-year-old man has now been recaptured and jailed -- and he now owes more than 30-thousand dollars in child support.
Authorities say Martin escaped from a work detail in 1979 while serving time for failing to pay support for two kids. They say he had a relative call Family Court to report he had died during a bar fight.
Investigators say he'd been living in Myrtle Beach and using real name for about 20 years -- and had a third child. They reopened his case after one of his ex-wives tipped them off that he was still around.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
. i want her back now.